Home

  • CII Exams
    • AF Exams
    • CII AF1 Personal Tax and Trust Planning
    • CII AF4 Investment Planning
    • CII AF5 Financial Planning Process
    • CII AF7 Pension Transfers
    • CF Exams
    • CII CF1 UK Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics
    • CII CF6 Mortgage Advice
    • CII CF8 Long Term Care Insurance
    • ER Exams
    • CII ER1 Equity Release
    • FA Exams
    • CII FA1 Life Office Administration
    • CII FA2 Pensions Administration
    • IF Exams
    • CII IF1 Insurance Legal and Regulatory
    • CII IF2 General Insurance Business
    • CII IF3 Insurance Underwriting Process
    • CII IF4 Insurance Claims Handling Process
    • CII IF5 Motor Insurance Products
    • J0 Exams
    • CII J02 Trusts
    • CII J05 Pension Income Options
    • CII J07 Supervision in a Regulated Environment
    • CII J10 Discretionary Investment Management
    • CII J12 Securities Advice and Dealing
    • LP Exams
    • CII LP2 Financial Services Products and Solutions
    • R0 Exams
    • CII R01 Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics
    • CII R02 Investment Principles and Risk
    • CII R03 Personal Taxation
    • CII R04 Pensions and Retirement Planning
    • CII R05 Financial Protection
    • CII R06 Financial Planning Practice
    • CII R07 Advanced Mortgage Advice
  • CII Qualifications
    • CII Qualifications Overview
    • Advanced Diplomas
    • CII Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning
    • Awards
    • CII Award in Financial Administration
    • CII Award in Life and Pensions Foundations
    • CII Award in Long Term Care Insurance
    • CII Award in Regulated Pension Transfer Advice
    • Certificates
    • CII Certificate in Advanced Mortgage Advice
    • CII Certificate in Discretionary Investment Management
    • CII Certificate in Equity Release
    • CII Certificate in Financial Services
    • CII Certificate in Insurance
    • CII Certificate in Investment Operations
    • CII Certificate in Mortgage Advice
    • CII Certificate in Paraplanning
    • CII Certificate in Regulated Financial Services Operations
    • CII Certificate in Securities Advice and Dealing
    • Diplomas
    • CII Diploma in Financial Planning
    • CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning
  • Main Pages
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Corporate
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Corporate
  • FAQs
  • About
  • Contact
Cart
Brand Financial Training
  • CII Exams
    • Exam-Col-01
      • AF Exams
      • CII AF1 Personal Tax and Trust Planning
      • CII AF4 Investment Planning
      • CII AF5 Financial Planning Process
      • CII AF7 Pension Transfers
      • CF Exams
      • CII CF1 UK Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics
      • CII CF6 Mortgage Advice
      • CII CF8 Long Term Care Insurance
      • ER Exams
      • CII ER1 Equity Release
      • FA Exams
      • CII FA1 Life Office Administration
      • CII FA2 Pensions Administration
    • Exam-Col-02
      • IF Exams
      • CII IF1 Insurance Legal and Regulatory
      • CII IF2 General Insurance Business
      • CII IF3 Insurance Underwriting Process
      • CII IF4 Insurance Claims Handling Process
      • CII IF5 Motor Insurance Products
      • J0 Exams
      • CII J02 Trusts
      • CII J05 Pension Income Options
      • CII J07 Supervision in a Regulated Environment
      • CII J10 Discretionary Investment Management
      • CII J12 Securities Advice and Dealing
      • LP Exams
      • CII LP2 Financial Services Products and Solutions
    • Exam-Col-03
      • R0 Exams
      • CII R01 Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics
      • CII R02 Investment Principles and Risk
      • CII R03 Personal Taxation
      • CII R04 Pensions and Retirement Planning
      • CII R05 Financial Protection
      • CII R06 Financial Planning Practice
      • CII R07 Advanced Mortgage Advice
      • Study Kit Box
  • CII Qualifications
    • Qual-Col-01
      • CII Qualifications Overview
      • CII Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning
      • CII Award in Financial Administration
      • CII Award in Life and Pensions Foundations
      • CII Award in Long Term Care Insurance
      • CII Award in Regulated Pension Transfer Advice
    • Qual-Col-02
      • CII Certificate in Advanced Mortgage Advice
      • CII Certificate in Discretionary Investment Management
      • CII Certificate in Equity Release
      • CII Certificate in Financial Services
      • CII Certificate in Insurance
      • CII Certificate in Investment Operations
      • CII Certificate in Mortgage Advice
      • CII Certificate in Paraplanning
      • CII Certificate in Regulated Financial Services Operations
      • CII Certificate in Securities Advice and Dealing
    • Qual-Col-03
      • CII Diploma in Financial Planning
      • CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning
Brand Financial Training > Newsletter > Newsletter for October 2020
  • Previous
  • Next
Newsletter for October 2020
October 13, 2020
Newsletter for October 2020

Newsletter for October 2020

Posted by The Team at Brand Financial Training on October 13, 2020 in Newsletter
 
 
13 October 2020
 

The October exam sitting for many of the CII exams has yet again caused a great deal of stress and confusion for candidates. Many of you have told us that you have received contradictory information from the CII – with some even being told to book an exam in a locked down area! Our own team have also experienced this directly, along with long call queues at the CII and long delays in responses to emails sent to them.

We have been in contact with the CII with regards the numerous issues you have told us about. However we also urge you to contact the CII directly to let them know about your experience with the October exam sitting. It is only by receiving your feedback and that of others, that CII can fully understand the extent of the chaos and confusion caused, and hopefully make improvements going forward.

For those of you still to sit your exam this week, good luck! For those of you who have already sat your exam, we hope it went well. We’d love to hear how it went.

Best Wishes,

The Team at Brand Financial Training

 
 
 
Featured Article
 
Looking at Phased Retirement By Way of an Example Calculation

Here, we provide readers with a useful example regarding phased annuity purchase – perfect for your CII R04, J05, AF7, or AF8 exam preparation.

Someone wishing to phase their retirement can do so by either crystallising just part of their pension fund and gradually crystallising the rest over the next few years, or if they have separate policies, they can be crystallised at different times; this is known as segmentation. This can be done through phased flexi-access drawdown, phased capped drawdown, phasing UFPLS, or by phased annuity purchase, which is what we are going to look at in this article by way of an example.

Example

Charlie is aged 60 and works part-time earning £15,000 per year. He now wishes to top this up by taking an income from his uncrystallised SIPP through phased annuity purchase. The provider does not allow partial encashment of segments. The SIPP is valued at £600,000 and segmented into 1,000 policies. Charlie requires a net income of £15,000 in the first year and has found an annuity rate of 5.6%, which he wishes to proceed with.

How many segments need to be crystallised to provide Charlie with his required level of income?

Firstly, we determine the value of each segment of Charlie’s SIPP: £600,000 ÷ 1,000 = £600

This provides 25% PCLS and the remaining 75% provides the income:

£600 x 25% = £150 (PCLS)

£600 x 75% = £450 x 5.6% = £25.20 gross (annuity income)

Charlie requires a net income, so we now need to deduct basic rate income tax – £25.20 x 80% = £20.16. We can now establish the total net income per segment:

£150 (PCLS) & £20.16 (net annuity income) = £170.16

Next, we work out how many segments need to be crystallised to provide the amount of net income:

£15,000 (target income) ÷ £170.16 (net income per segment) = 88.15

This tells us we need to crystallise 88.15 segments to achieve the required net income; however, as the provider doesn’t allow partial encashment, we round this up to 89 to provide Charlie with an income of:

89 x £170.16 = £15,144.24

The income is made up as follows:

89 segments x £150 (PCLS) = £13,350

89 segments x £20.16 (net annuity income) = £1,794.24

Total net income £15,144.24

 
Read full article
 
 
 
Revision and Study Tips
 
Let there be light – especially when studying!

Often we underestimate the importance of good lighting in our study and workspaces. Here, we discuss the factors to consider when setting up the area in which you will be spending many an hour of revision time!

Clocks go back across the UK on October 25, after which it’s the season for Guy Fawkes, pumpkins and, if you’re a fan, Strictly Come Dancing. For some, it’s a time of grey, chilly, damp slog; others relish the cooler air, stunning foliage, and general cosiness.

But whatever your take on autumn, the nights are undeniably drawing in. And that may have more implications for your studying than you realised. More than ever, at this time of year it’s important – quite literally – to see things in a good light.

And while we might not think about it that often, the right lighting is crucial to effective working.

Some people experience SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) at this time of year. This is a persistent low mood brought on by the onset of the colder season. A lack of natural sunlight is a key factor behind this condition, and light therapy in the form of a special lamp or lightbox is one of the recommended treatments – the good news is that there are various options to help that don’t involve medication.

In this article, however, we’ll be considering the impact of poor lighting on studying and eyesight. After all, your mind may be razor-sharp and focused, but if your eyesight can’t keep up because of poor lighting, you will achieve less than your full potential.

 
Read full article
 
 
 
Calculation Workbooks
 

 

..."The calculation workbooks for R02 and R03 are very good indeed. They were a major factor in helping me achieve good scores in these exams (89% and 80% respectively)..."

Julian Sellen, Leatherhead

Available for AF1, AF2, AF4, R02, R03, R04, R06, J03, J05, J10, J12, CF1, CF6

Many exam-takers lose vital marks when it comes to performing calculations as they haven’t nailed down the exact process and order in which to perform the calculations, and haven’t spent enough time practising them.

The number of marks gained or lost on calculation questions can make the difference between a pass and a fail. Just a little more time taken on calculations during the revision period can give you the confidence you need to perform any calculation that could come up, so that you know you will gain top marks on all those calculation questions.

Our calculation workbooks guide you through the calculations, step-by-step, and providing detailed answers, with cross references to the relevant CII study text. All questions and answers kept up-to-date to reflect changes to the exam syllabus and tax year, and you can download them instantly in PDF format.

Why not try before you buy? Download one of our free tasters:

AF1, AF2, AF4

R02, R03, R04, R06

J03, J05, J10, J12

CF1, CF6

..."I passed R02 - No doubt thanks to your fantastic workbook which helped no end! With the extra work that I did going through your workbook, this helped a great deal with feeling confident which in this exam particularly was useful given that the technique and timing is as important as the knowledge and skill in ensuring that you get through the questions in a timely manner. One could so easily become distracted or frustrated trying to work out/remember one particular formula to the deficit of the other questions but your workbook enabled me to feel glad that there were so many calculations in the exam whereby before I actually feared them."...

David Gunn, Adviser, Nottingham

 
 
 
Did You Miss These Posts on Our Blog?
 

Articles and Help for All Your Exams

You’ll find that there’s something for everyone when you check out our blog:

  • specific topics and how-to articles;
  • reviews of recent CII exam papers;
  • our Friday Five – a weekly quiz to give you a fun break from reading the study text;
  • study techniques that help you to retain your revision and keep your brain working for you, when you need it

Here are the blog posts you might have missed since our last newsletter:

Friday Five Focus on Taxation – 9 October - Click here.

What to Expect from the CII’s R06 Exam - Click here.

Friday Five Focus on Investments – 2 October - Click here.

The CII AF7 July 2020 Exam in Review - Click here.

Friday Five – 25 September - Click here.

Our Post-Exam Review of the July 2020 CII AF5 Exam - Click here.

The CII AF1 July 2020 Exam in Review - Click here.

Friday Five – 18 September - Click here.

Familiarity Tests for a Better On-Screen Exam Experience - Click here.

Our Post-Exam Review of the July 2020 CII R06 Exam - Click here.

Friday Five – 11 September - Click here.

There’s such a variety of information on offer to help you as you tackle your CII exams, that you won’t want to miss a single post. We’ve made it easy for you; just click the button below and enter your email details. Be ‘in the know’ with CII-exam-related tips and info – straight to your inbox!

 
 
 
Quote of the Month
 

..." Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It’s a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment. "...

 
Eric Butterworth
 
 
 
Friday 5 Focus on...
 

"5 Questions in 5 Minutes Every Friday"

Check out the new format of our Friday Five quiz. Each week, we ask questions relating to one of these topics: Investments, Taxation, Pensions, Protection, or Regulation. The challenge is for you to answer them in 5 minutes.

Where do I find the Friday Five?

We post each week's Friday Five to our blog first thing every Friday. You can either visit our blog every Friday at https://brandft.co.uk/blog/ or you can simply go there now, and click on the subscribe button in the top right-hand corner of the blog and sign up to receive notifications of our Friday Five posts.

Note that we don't email the Friday Five out to everybody every Friday, so we recommend you sign up to our blog at https://brandft.co.uk/blog/ so that you receive an email notification when it is posted. It will only take you a minute to sign up.

A bit of Friday Fun, but with the added benefit of testing your exam knowledge!

 
Try it out
 
 
 
Updates to CII Study Texts
 

Here’s a reminder that the CII update their study texts throughout the examinable year to either incorporate new legislations, correct errors or clarify information. Many candidates aren’t aware of this, which can result in candidates studying out-of-date information.

To find out if you have the most up-to-date information, visit the CII website, navigate to your chosen exam and click on ‘learning solutions update’ in the ‘Unit updates’ section in the sidebar.

Note that we keep our resources up-to-date with any updates from the CII.

 
 
 
© Brand Financial Training
   
 
 
W : brandft.co.uk | E : | T : 0345 680 1682
Calls are charged at the same rate as standard landline numbers. This rate will depend on your telephone provider and may be included in your tariff.
 
 
Tags:Brand Financial Training's monthly newsletter, October 2020 newsletter

Related posts

  • Newsletter for July 2025
    Newsletter for July 2025
  • Newsletter for June 2025
    Newsletter for June 2025
  • Newsletter for May 2025
    Newsletter for May 2025
  • Newsletter for April 2025
    Newsletter for April 2025

Subscribe

Get new blog posts delivered straight to your inbox!

By ticking this box you are giving your consent for us to email you when a new post is published on our blog. We may also email you with additional information and offers that we believe may be of interest to you. We take your privacy very seriously and we will never share your personal information. You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time. For information about how we handle your data, please read our privacy notice.

Please tick the box to give your consent for us to email you when a new post is published on our blog. We may also email you with additional information and offers that we believe may be of interest to you. We take your privacy very seriously and we will never share your personal information. You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time. For information about how we handle your data, please read our privacy notice at https://brandft.co.uk/privacy-policy/

Search

To search our blog just enter a keyword and click search.

Latest Posts

  • Friday Five Focus on Regulation – 5 Questions in 5 Minutes – 18 Jul 2025
    By The Team at Brand Financial Training
    July 18, 2025
  • National Insurance Employment Allowance
    By The Team at Brand Financial Training
    July 15, 2025
  • Friday Five Focus on Protection – 5 Questions in 5 Minutes – 11 Jul 2025
    By The Team at Brand Financial Training
    July 11, 2025
  • Chargeable Events on Bonds Held in Trusts
    By The Team at Brand Financial Training
    July 8, 2025

Follow us

Categories

Archives


All content © Brand Financial Training Ltd, 2008-2024. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Brand Financial Training Ltd https://brandft.co.uk with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Contacts

Email :
Tel : +44 (0)345 680 1682
You can leave a voicemail for us but for the quickest response, please email our customer service team at the above email address, who will respond within 24 hours.

Calls are charged at the same rate as standard landline numbers. This rate will depend on your telephone provider and may be included in your tariff.

Newsletter

Stay up to date with our informative monthly newsletter tailored for you.

Learn more

We write for...

Logo: Money Marketing Logo: Professional Paraplanner Professional Paraplanner Awards 2021
Learn more

We support...

In Aid of Trussell Trust The Clothing Bank
Find out more about how we work to make a social impact.
Learn more

Home
About
Blog
Contact
Social Impact

Money back guarantee
Corporate
Help and FAQs
Learning Resource Updates

Email :
Tel : +44 (0)345 680 1682 (Voicemail only)

Calls are charged at the same rate as standard landline numbers. This rate will depend on your telephone provider and may be included in your tariff.

LinkedInLinkedInTwitter/XTwitter/X YouTubeYouTubeYouTubeYouTube

©2025 Brand Financial Training Ltd · Reg No: 7153959 · VAT No: 979 2499 45

Policies | Terms of use | Terms of sale | Privacy policy | Cookie policy